A Realistic Look at the 2026 Red Sox: Part I

[Old Red]

15 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

Not this year anyway! 

They tried him at 1b and it must have been U.G.L.Y.

Yes it seems the more they moved him the uglier it got.

[Old Red]

12 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

But didnt you jsut say its his bat that will get him to the majors.  If KC gets to the majors this year it will be because of two things, bat + opportunity.  That opportunity might be in teh infield.  He may be better overall second baseman than IKF and Romy but not as good an outfielder of the top 4 who may be healthy.  Why not make the team better and have teh best available 2b play 2b?  Could also move Cedanne to 2b if youd rather. 

But my point is simply that there is no reason to pigeon hole people and rule out potential defensive combinations on 3/4/26.  We dont know the twists / turns of the season.  I like being versatile and adaptable to whatever may be thrown at us. Especially with Breslow who I dont trust to make the move we need

Still don’t see it for KC. Not this year anyway. Woo is the best place for him to improve not only with the bat, but with the glove if possible. Many things would have to go wrong with injuries ect, which could happen, but outside of that he’s still a suspect in progress.

[mvp 78]

42 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

If KC is hitting .950 in AAA in July and all 4 outfielders are healthy, chances are youll see KC at 2b (or Cedanne)

At 2b in WOO? Maybe? Platooning with Mayer instead of Romy? Doubtful. 

Let's cross that bridge first though. He's never OPS'd 900+ in AAA even including partial year 2024. His highest AAA OPS for a month was 816 last season. 

[moonslav59]

6 hours ago, mvp 78 said:

Having 4 starting OFers and parking a DH on the bench with Casas rehabbing with no clear path to playing time if he's healthy is bad team building. 

Agreed. Depth is a nice thing, but when you have some clearly weak areas, it's a luxury misplaced.

[moonslav59]

47 minutes ago, mvp 78 said:

At 2b in WOO? Maybe? Platooning with Mayer instead of Romy? Doubtful. 

Let's cross that bridge first though. He's never OPS'd 900+ in AAA even including partial year 2024. His highest AAA OPS for a month was 816 last season. 

LF or DH is probably his best parking space. Too bad we have logjams at both slots, right now, and some player overlap in both slots: Duran, Masa, KC...

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

At 2b in WOO? Maybe? Platooning with Mayer instead of Romy? Doubtful. 

Let's cross that bridge first though. He's never OPS'd 900+ in AAA even including partial year 2024. His highest AAA OPS for a month was 816 last season. 

I think if its July, and KC has been playing LF in Woo all year and has a .950 OPS.  Then Story gets hurt (significantly), I think the obvious move will be to call up KC and to play either KC or Cedanne at infield and live with the defensive drop off.

But I agree lets cross the bridge first.  Its not like I think hes going to hit .950 OPS at Woo.  Just that if he is, you find a spot for the bat, and I dont care where he plays. Put him at Catcher, dont care.

[drewski6]

34 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Agreed. Depth is a nice thing, but when you have some clearly weak areas, it's a luxury misplaced.

But when its pitching, 8 starters isnt enough

[drewski6]

34 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

LF or DH is probably his best parking space. Too bad we have logjams at both slots, right now, and some player overlap in both slots: Duran, Masa, KC...

Good thing we have so much defensive versatility.  

[drewski6]

My point is simply this: versatility and depth are good.  Having guys who can only play one position, and assigning every player to one position only = bad.

We went out and got Durbin because he can play more than 1 position. It was like one of the first things Bres said that attracted him to the guy.

Positions are suggestions.  Versatility is great. We will use it.

[drewski6]

A good defense that isnt versatile isnt a good defense.

[JoeBrady]

3 hours ago, Old Red said:

The Red Sox didn’t help matters either by trying to make Campbell into a super utility guy who co could play all over the field, because that’s how things are done.

They didn't really try to make him into a super-utility.  He only had 8 outfield starts, as opposed to 54 starts at 2nd.  I think they thought his bat was ready, that they needed a 2B, and that most of his time in the minors was spent at 2nd.  They were probably just shocked at how poorly he transitioned to the pros.

[Old Red]

3 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

My point is simply this: versatility and depth are good.  Having guys who can only play one position, and assigning every player to one position only = bad.

We went out and got Durbin because he can play more than 1 position. It was like one of the first things Bres said that attracted him to the guy.

Positions are suggestions.  Versatility is great. We will use it.

The Red Sox went out, and got Durbin, because he was a cheap option compared to Bregman, Marte, and all the other options that was mentioned on here to play 2B/3B.

[Old Red]

9 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

But when its pitching, 8 starters isnt enough

Has 8 SP been enough for the Red Sox the past 3 years??🤭

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Good thing we have so much defensive versatility.  

That so many should be a DH?🤔

[Old Red]

10 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

A good defense that isnt versatile isnt a good defense.

That’s why the Red sOX used 11 different 2B in 2024, because of versatility, and all the players who passed through playing 1B led by the great Franchy Strange Glove, because of versatility.

[mvp 78]

3 minutes ago, Old Red said:

Has 8 SP been enough for the Red Sox the past 3 years??🤭

Sox only used 8 starters in '24 (if you ignore the few bullpen games that were thrown). 🫠

The top 4 starters were pretty healthy that season. Whitlock, the original 5th starter, got hurt very early on.

Crawford 33 GS

Houck 30 GS

Bello 30 GS

Pivetta 26 GS

Criswell got the 5th most starts that season.

[mvp 78]

Marcelo had a strong defensive performance last night. Lots of offseason work for him.

 

[drewski6]

1 minute ago, mvp 78 said:

Marcelo had a strong defensive performance last night. Lots of offseason work for him.

 

He looked good in a different game I watched :)

[drewski6]

17 minutes ago, Old Red said:

That so many should be a DH?🤔

We have 2 players who should be a DH, Casas and Masa.  Most firstbaseman and LF are probably better suited to be DHs.  But Duran is probably a better LF than most (defensively) and Contreras is certainly a better 1b than most (defensively).

Maybe in the past, this was the case.  BUt we are looking strong and versatile defensively, a good thing.

[drewski6]

14 minutes ago, Old Red said:

That’s why the Red sOX used 11 different 2B in 2024, because of versatility, and all the players who passed through playing 1B led by the great Franchy Strange Glove, because of versatility.

I dont correlate all this.  My point is depth and versatility are good, regardless if its on the pitcher side or on the positional player side.

[drewski6]

26 minutes ago, Old Red said:

The Red Sox went out, and got Durbin, because he was a cheap option compared to Bregman, Marte, and all the other options that was mentioned on here to play 2B/3B.

Sure, but after not being able to land the bigger fish in Marte/Bregman, they went out and got Durbin and stated that one of the reasons they were attracted to him was that he could play multiple positions.  Because versatility is an asset.  Why do you think SUVs are popular?

[drewski6]

Why do you think white rice is popular? Or spaghetti or Vodka.  

[Old Red]

15 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

I dont correlate all this.  My point is depth and versatility are good, regardless if its on the pitcher side or on the positional player side.

I agree on depth, but versatility doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all good like all the 2B/1B the Red Sox went through the past two years.

[mvp 78]

46 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Why do you think SUVs are popular?

People think they need a bigger car than they actually do. With other cars getting bigger and bigger, buyers feel less safe in smaller cars. 

[mvp 78]

47 minutes ago, drewski6 said:

Why do you think white rice is popular? Or spaghetti or Vodka.  

White rice is pretty simple to make and has been used for generations. 

I don't think spaghetti is all that popular to be honest. Maybe if we're talking 1986 or something. 

Vodka? The most popular alcohol in the US is whiskey and for good reason. Whiskey has local roots and has tasting notes. Vodka is just something you put in other liquid to give it alcohol. 

[Old Red]

1 hour ago, mvp 78 said:

Sox only used 8 starters in '24 (if you ignore the few bullpen games that were thrown). 🫠

The top 4 starters were pretty healthy that season. Whitlock, the original 5th starter, got hurt very early on.

Crawford 33 GS

Houck 30 GS

Bello 30 GS

Pivetta 26 GS

Criswell got the 5th most starts that season.

You’re right. I forgot when the Kut Man, and Houck got hurt.

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

But when its pitching, 8 starters isnt enough

Hardly ever, but our history has been we only win rings when we use 5-6 pitchers for a huge chunk of all games started, anyway.

I count 9:

5: Crochet, Suarez, Gray,  Bello & Oviedo

4: Crawford, Sandoval, Tolle & Early

Is Uberstine less thought of than Newcomb & Dobbins were last March?

(Also, I'm talking LF & DH depth is a luxury we should have traded for strengthening other higher need areas.)

 

[moonslav59]

1 hour ago, drewski6 said:

Good thing we have so much defensive versatility.  

Yes, but Masa, KC & Casas look like DH only types. Duran is okay on D- maybe, but he's the DH.

[drewski6]

1 hour ago, Old Red said:

I agree on depth, but versatility doesn’t necessarily mean it’s all good like all the 2B/1B the Red Sox went through the past two years.

Correct, having versatility is good.  But not every "slash" player (someone who can play multiple positions) is good at every position they play.  That doesnt mean , however, that they should never play those positions. It does mean, however, that they probably shouldnt play that position full time, forever.

I dont hate seeing KC get some 2b in Woo.  Maybe it gets better his 2b d.  Maybe thats where an opportunity opens. Mayer and Story arent particularly durable.  But I dont think KC should get more games at 2b than in the OF, however.  And I dont think you are hurting him by moving him.  But I know you think that, and I dont think its like an unreasonable belief.  I dont dismiss it entirely and I can see the logic.  Let him focus on one position and hitting, why clog up his brain.  But Im not on board that keeping KC versatile defensively is doing more harm than good.  I think he continues to get better at 2b, OF, and hitting.  And I like that he can be depth to so many positions nad be kept in minor leagues.

[drewski6]

36 minutes ago, moonslav59 said:

Yes, but Masa, KC & Casas look like DH only types. Duran is okay on D- maybe, but he's the DH.

Thats not fair to KC or really Duran. Duran is a below average corner outfielder, above average center fielder who happens to be the second best centerfielder on the team.  So if hes pushed to corner outfield, he may make most sense at DH, but its not fair to say hes a DH. 28 teams would love to have Duran as CF.  Hes better than "okay on D- maybe" and I know you say "im the guy who says more value elsewhere than here because we have Cedanne" and I get that.  But Duran is "okay on D- maybe" as a LF, but not overall because hes much better than that at CF.  At CF , Duran is plus defensively (but not plus-plus like Cedanne)